Oversight
Getting a simple FOIA request from OPM shouldn’t be this hard
COMMENTARY | A frequent FOIA requester found himself navigating dead inboxes, broken portals and months-long waits after cuts gutted the Office of Personnel Management’s public records operation.
Pay & Benefits
Bill expanding paid leave for feds is pared back in Senate
The upper chamber’s version of legislation extending 12 weeks of paid family leave each year to federal workers removes provisions allowing it to be used in connection with helping a family member who has been the victim of sexual assault, domestic violence or stalking.
Management
National crisis and support hotline operations remained consistent despite staffing cuts, watchdog found
Some staff operating mental health support hotlines at the departments of Health and Human Services and Veterans Affairs were subject to reductions in force last year and have not yet been replaced.
Management
EPA’s cancer-risk data has gone dark
The agency is still publishing air pollution data, but a key part of its analysis is missing from the latest release.
Sponsor Content
Securing the government mission: Leveraging agentic AI for cybersecurity
AI is transforming government cybersecurity as adversaries accelerate attacks. Discover how agentic defenses are helping agencies fight back faster.
Defense
The Army gave General Dynamics $533M to build an artillery plant that produced nothing
Instead of making shells, the assembly robots kept failing in bizarre ways—and that's just for starters.
Tech
Labor looks to AI to tackle accommodation requests from disabled employees
Employees say they’ve waited months or longer for decisions, as the Labor Department considers using AI to sort requests and flag missing documentation.
Tech
OneGov savings balloon to over $1.6B as agencies weigh future of AI in contracting
The General Services Administration has already agreed to extend some OneGov deals and is working on brokering new ones, according to an official.
Sponsor Content
The agentic blueprint for the National Labs and DOE complex
Explore how agentic AI is accelerating scientific research while protecting mission critical DOE data.
Workforce
OPM finalizes expanded hazard pay for federal firefighters
Under regulations set to take effect next month, federal wildland firefighters will be eligible for 25% hazard pay in connection with work on prescribed burns.
FEATURED INSIGHTS
Tech
Intel ops are underway at Space Command’s nascent Alabama HQ
Alabama landed SPACECOM after a years-long political fight. Now it’s getting off the ground.
Pay & Benefits
Lawsuit seeks to enforce 2025 SCOTUS decision improving pay for feds called to active duty
In the 15 months since the Supreme Court ruled that federal workers who also serve as military reservists do not need to prove that an active duty deployment is “substantially connected” to a national emergency, OPM has yet to issue new guidance reflecting the new precedent.
Pay & Benefits
Before you take money out of your TSP, weigh these trade-offs
A withdrawal can affect everything from your tax bill and Medicare premiums to how long your savings last and what your heirs receive.
TSP TICKER
FUND
G
F
C
S
I
AUG 17 CLOSE
$20.1367
$20.8237
$124.7825
$120.6396
$66.4152
DAILY CHANGE
0.0081
-0.0382
-0.6386
-0.3403
0.0443
THIS MONTH (%)
0.23
0.29
3.47
5.84
3.75
FUND
L 2070
L 2060
L 2050
L 2040
L 2030
L INCOME
AUG 17 CLOSE
$14.8148
$25.0000
$47.3693
$76.3233
$64.0591
$31.1409
DAILY CHANGE
-0.0410
-0.0691
-0.1115
-0.1550
-0.0924
-0.0189
THIS MONTH (%)
3.84
3.84
3.21
2.85
2.20
1.25
FUND
AUG 17
CLOSE
CLOSE
DAILY
CHANGE
CHANGE
THIS
MONTH
MONTH
G
$20.1367
0.0081
0.23
F
$20.8237
-0.0382
0.29
C
$124.7825
-0.6386
3.47
S
$120.6396
-0.3403
5.84
I
$66.4152
0.0443
3.75
L 2070
$14.8148
-0.0410
3.84
L 2060
$25.0000
-0.0691
3.84
L 2050
$47.3693
-0.1115
3.21
L 2040
$76.3233
-0.1550
2.85
L 2030
$64.0591
-0.0924
2.20
L INCOME
$31.1409
-0.0189
1.25
Tech
The feds want private companies to take the fight to cybercriminals
A new program would put vetted companies in a more active role against transnational criminal groups, with DHS and Justice overseeing the operations.
Exclusive
Workforce
Statistical agency staffing cuts put federal data under new scrutiny on Capitol Hill
House Education and Workforce Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott, D-Va., is pressing for a September hearing to examine what staffing losses and leadership vacancies mean for agencies responsible for producing key data.
Oversight
State’s overseas housing rules haven’t kept up with the times, GAO says
The agency is still using standards tied to the D.C. housing market of 1991 to determine how much space employees stationed abroad can have.
Workforce
State Department expands push to reclassify employees as at-will workers
An expanded search for more Schedule Policy/Career conversions is still in its early stages, but a department employee says the effort is “moving relatively fast.”
Tech
Space Command says it needs to ‘shoot, move and communicate’ in orbit
Gen. Stephen Whiting, the outgoing commander of U.S. Space Command, used his final speech at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Ala., to outline the capabilities he says the military needs to keep pace with China.
Management
Federal agencies are looking beyond the usual sources for new ideas
NIH is offering $1 million for practical ideas that could help long-acting HIV prevention and treatment reach more people, and applicants do not need a traditional research background to participate.
Tech
VA’s benefits system overhaul is running into some familiar problems
An audit found gaps in planning, cost estimates and oversight that could put the modernization effort further behind schedule.
Management
NTEU sets deadline for its members to resume paying dues
The union’s deadline comes as the Trump administration has stripped collective bargaining rights from roughly two-thirds of NTEU members and disrupted its primary source of revenue.
Workforce
IRS says a new policy ‘moots’ NTEU’s First Amendment lawsuit. The union isn’t so sure
A new policy allows only “agency-sponsored materials” to be posted on communal office bulletin boards, but agency officials still say they have discretion to approve or deny other documents.
Workforce
‘We’re still in hell’: A year later, CDC employees remain shaken by headquarters shooting — and angry at agency leaders’ response
The agency is also contending with deep workforce cuts and leadership changes as a new director prepares to take over.
Defense
How Congress is reshaping the administration's FY27 defense budget
Lawmakers are backing the White House’s spending ambitions in some areas while pushing back on how the Pentagon would spend the money.
Management
Todd Blanche is officially the nation’s top law enforcement official
Trump’s former personal attorney takes over the Justice Department after a contentious Senate confirmation vote.
